Ice cool Tadej Pogacar cracks, but saves the day in Tour de France
Slovenian shows first sign of weakness in the ascent of the awe-inspiring Mont Ventoux
Tour de France overall leader Tadej Pogacar showed a first sign of weakness in the ascent of the awe-inspiring Mont Ventoux on Wednesday and even though he still extended his advantage, the Slovenian has not yet wrapped up the title.
Belgian Wout van Aert claimed a solo win in the 11th stage, a 198.9km trek from Sorgues, while Pogacar was distanced 2km from the top of the second ascent of the moonscaped Ventoux by Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard.
Vingegaard opened up a 40 sec gap before eventually being caught by Pogacar, Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran and Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz in the long descent to the finish.
Overall, Uran moved up to second, a huge 5:18 behind Pogacar with Vingegaard in third, a further 14 sec back after Australian Ben O’Conor, who had started the day in second position, cracked in the Ventoux.
“I’m lost for words. It’s stupid to say but I didn’t expect to win a stage on this Tour de France until yesterday [Tuesday] when I felt I could win one. It’s one of the most iconic climbs on the Tour. Maybe it’s my best victory ever,” said Van Aert.
Reuters